December 8th, 2022Functional pieces with an earthy aesthetic

Words and Images: Eve Lamb

IF YOU’VE ever encountered the term wabi-sabi while exploring Japanese spiritual or aesthetic philosophy you will have a bit of an insight into the style of Clunes ceramicist Chandra Paul.
Originally a city girl, Chandra escaped the clutches of the state’s main metropolis six years ago to set up a home and ceramics studio in Clunes – complete with kiln.
She has not looked back since.
“I do hand building. My work is slab and coil built,” Chandra says.
Her own website describes her work as: “Hand built, small batch stoneware pottery. Minimal, rustic, contemporary, earthy and tactile”.
“Hand building is slow and laborious so in effect each piece you make is a one-off piece. I like to see the maker’s marks embedded in the clay,” she says.
Chandra’s focus is on creating original functional pieces with a beautiful earthy aesthetic to sell at artists’ markets as well as online.
Exquisite little tableware pieces, unique display vases and indoor plant display pots are all part of what she does. Very recently she has also made a suite of bespoke pieces for higher end local restaurateurs looking for something very special to set off
attractions on their menu.
“I want to work closely with other small businesses and their vision and help make it come alive through my craft. The design process is where a lot of the work is.”
Wabi-sabi is all about the beauty inherent in the perfectly imperfect, and the pieces Chandra creates beautifully showcase the raw aesthetic of the materials from which they are made.
To hold one of these organic little creations in the palm of your hand is to instantly conjure something precious and essential, a homage to the landscapes from which they’re derived.
But before making her move to Clunes, Chandra had never enjoyed the creative convenience of possessing her own kiln.
“This kiln and I are friends,” she says of the kiln that she ordered from Germany and waited for six months for it to arrive. “This is a good kiln.”
“I built here in Clunes in 2016. When I was in Melbourne I was a tenant and couldn’t have my own studio. I chose Clunes partly for financial reasons. It was affordable.
“But I was also thinking that 10 years down the track Clunes is going to be a bit like Daylesford and Hepburn were in the day. I thought this might be a bit of a hub for creative people.
“I grew up in inner Melbourne and before I moved here I was living in Seaford and not feeling particularly safe. Every time I came up here I felt I could breathe again. I like space.
“I had been renting some space in a ceramics co-op out in the suburbs and someone teaching art in the adjoining room had a holiday house here in Clunes and told me about it. It just sparked my interest.”
Right now Chandra has various artists’ markets lined up to attend in the metro area as she loves being present to chat to those who are drawn to her work.
“It’s a niche, ceramics, but the people who love it come back because they have a yen for the things of the earth,” she says.
“The idea at the moment is online shopping with activations – that is going out into the world and engaging with people whether it’s at markets or exhibitions, or pop-up shops,” she says.
“I have also recently started a blog – I’ve never done one before – for anyone who wants to hear about some pottery minutia.
“It’s about my journey and processes with pottery.”